Tabs

6/08/2011

Terminal Identity, and Contemporary Portraiture [2]

So, to delve a little deeper...

What is terminal identity?

The notion of a 'terminal identity' comes from science-fiction, contemporary cultural studies and post-modern theories that investigate how advanced electronic technologies are impacting upon the cultures of the developed. Theorists including Donna Haraway, Scott Bukatman, and Jean Baudrillard are integral to this area of study.

The 'terminal identity' I am curious about relates to what Bukatman calls the "armchair universe", where the rise of global communication networks has digitised popular ideas relating to social interaction, leisure, work, commerce, and government. From home, or their private terminal in a library or Internet cafe.